Tuesday, 4 September 2007

Melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Tart

It was Fathers' Day in Australia last Sunday. We had beautiful weather that day so Quikong decided that we should go kayaking before going over to his parents' place. I had to arrange the strawberries in a hurry, then had to carry this tart to the kayak rental place and luckily they had a fridge that I could store it in. To keep the story short, the strawberry tart survived the journey and made it to the Father's Day lunch in one piece.

I found this recipe from Martha Steward's magazine called Everyday Food (May 2006) and can also be found here. It consists of a very tender, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crust, light cream cheese filling and luscious juicy strawberries. Not convinced yet? It's also so easy to prepare. I also highly recommend this tart to those who do not feel comfortable or confident with shortcrust pastry because this shortbread pastry is really easy to make and does not require the use of a rolling pin. It can be made ahead of time - I prepared the crust the day before, stored it in the fridge and baked it next morning. After it cooled, I assembled the tart at 9am and when we ate it at 3pm, the crust was still crispy. Despite the tender crust, the tart was easily lifted out of the removable-base tart pan.

My adjustments to the recipe:

I increased the salt for the crust to 1/2 tspn, added 1 tspn of vanilla sugar to the crust and also to the filling. I glazed the strawberries with 1-2 tbsp of strawberry jam that I warmed slightly in the microwave. Next time, I think that I might try adding some sour cream and increase the sugar accordingly for a more "fluffy" filling. I'd love to make another tart with blueberries or rasberries.

The Verdict:

Everyone at the lunch, from Quikong's little niece to his grandmother (who normally does not eat dessert) loved it. There were no leftovers. What are you waiting for???

32 comments:

I can see why there would be no leftovers Nora!!!What a perfect way to use strawberries. Also I have tagged you for a MEME because I could't think of anyone in the blogosphere whose name begins with "E". I know that we get lots of these MEME's and there are only so many hours in the day designated for blogging. Check out my answers if you would care to and join if you wish to do so only!!!

beautiful! Your strawberry tart can lighten up everyone's day... I am in my office, feeling exhausted after teaching non-stop for 4 hours (And still have the afternoon one to go!). And I would love a piece of your tart...!

Believe it or not, I am still getting strawberries from my 6 little plants. Never enough for more than a bowl with yougurt for lunch though.Love your tart, I esp, like the shortbread crust... and the cream cheese, and the...well, pretty much everything... I love 'berry' sweets.

What a beautifully glistening creation, Nora. Good that you had a place to store it before kayaking. As sturdy as it is delicate, it would have been awfully peeved should it have had to come on board and risk a wet exit. ; )

Kirsten - Thank you. I was a tiny bit worried about the tart while I was on the water. Let me know what you think of the tart.

Katiez - I am envious of your 6 plants. 'Berry' desserts are lovely. I'm waiting for the season to change so that blueberries and raspberries get more affordable.

Kelly-Jane - Thank you.

Susan - Thank you. I had to make it glisten because the strawberries were laid out haphazardly, but I don't think anyone noticed (except me!). I was a bit concerned that someone won't be tempted to take a bite out of it while I was on the water.

Veron & Tigerfish - Thank you. I will be making this again soon. This time just for me. :-)

Mandy - Oooh, you are tempting me to make it again. Raspberries aren't on offer yet here but I can make a strawberry one again.

Amanda - Thanks, yes we had a wonderful day. One of those days when lunch turned into dinner. We left at 10pm I think.

Patricia - Thanks and it was so easy to make too.

Wendy - I think so too :-)

Janet - Thank you.

Deb - Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment :-) I am in love with this tart pan and use every excuse to make something in it. You can have a look at two posts ago when I made lemon meringue pie in the same tart pan.

I just came across this post and I can't wait to make this tart. My family has an organic strawberry farm and by the mid January we should be picking berries. We're always on the look out for new recipes! Looks great!!!

About Me

For the love of food

... looking, thinking, reading, researching, smelling, creating, discussing, tasting, sharing & dreaming about food.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~Many years ago, I moved to Sydney from a tiny island near the equator. It is no secret that I am obsessed about food. My Aussie husband ("Quikong") claims that he doesn't really care about food. In reality, he is actually a gourmand-in-denial & my harshest critic. Therefore, I've made him the official taster of the recipes I will post.